Free of Persecution
by disastrousSilence
Summary: Eridan wants someone, anyone to understand how he feels... He finally decides to meet the humans for the first time and a certain cool kid and seadweller find they have a lot more in common then they thought. (Lame summary is lame) Rated M for language/violence and suggested themes(smut later on though.) EridanXDave
1. Fishing hooks and razor blades

**Hello ov o! This is my very first fanfiction! I hope you like it u It'll be a long fic maybe probably. Rating it M for later chapters and language/violence. I do not own Homestuck or these characters they belong to Andrew Hussie~**

**Pairing(s): Main: EridanXDave (I may decide to incorporate other pairings in here but that'll be much later!)**

**Enough my my jibber-jabber! Enjoy!~ Reviews are loved~**

**Free of Persecution**

Another turn, another toss... These blankets are suffocating but without them it's as if you're so vulnerable to the evils of the world. A night wasted; surely your own mind hated you. Giving in you sit up and rub your eyes moving your hands up through your thick black hair with your signature royal purple streak. Your name is Eridan Ampora and your past is haunting you causing many sleepless nights.

It's been a few weeks but the culture clashes has started rubbing off on both human and troll alike. Trolls acquiring beds and humans using the quadrant system in relationships, even you found the whole 'bed' idea a nice change. You'd only seen the humans a few times but always kept a distance. "Who'd want to see you anyways" you always thought to yourself. A loud ping noise arouses you from your loathing; someone seems to be pestering you...

cuttlefishCuller [CC] began trolling caligulasAquarium [CA]

CC: )(-EY -ERIDAN! 38D

CC: GLUB GLUB

CA: hey fef

CC: W)(ale that's not very ent)(usiastic 38(

CC: I was wondering if you were ever going to get off your )(ig)( sea)(oofbeast and actually talk to t)(e )(umans

CA: wwhy wwould i evven bother

CA: they probably dont evven knoww i exist

CA: they dont evven look worth the trouble itd take for me to go ovver to kars hivve to evven meet them

CC: w)(y cant you give )(hem a try?

CC: t)(is is w)(y we never worked out as moirails you always are so dramatic 38(

CA: wwhatevver fef i havve to go

caligulasAquarium [CA] ceased trolling cuttlefishCuller [CC]

In your time alone you learned to not express your feelings. Nobody seemed to give a damn. Everyone always saw you as that troll who killed angels and always screwed everything up. Each insult stung but you recently discovered a way, via the humans, to cope with your internal mess of hatred and need. It was for the best you would always say as the glint of the silver blade flashed before you. This way no one had to be in pain, everyone would be delighted to know about your little secret. The beautiful rivers of royalty disgustingly slithering down your arm always made you think.. Just how special is this blood?

It flows so freely, you never let it last long however. You turn to your sink washing away your vile deed; this was the part that always made you feel the best. Cleaning up the wounds with your close by medical kit you pull some gauze and medical tape out and begin methodically wrapping your wrist. Dressing the wound so professionally filled you with a sense of accomplishment, and dare you say a bit of hope. It was a strange feeling but you felt forgiven for the slightest of moments and in that you found bliss. This was something you could control and no one could ever take it away from you, though a small part wishes someone would. You push your selfish desires away and step outside, might as well get this out of the way.

"Ready to go?" you question your trusty seahorse dad, and loud whining noise is all the response you need before mounting the beast and setting forth to the mutant bloods hive.

Riding through the air gave you vast daydreams of what you believe it'd be like to be the famed Prince of Hope. The purple faerie-like wings sprouting from your back with the winged symbol of hope replacing your Aquarius one on your fresh vivid new attire. It'd be a new beginning one perhaps in which you could have friends and dare you dream, a matesprite. You've spent many attempts to sway others into quadrants with you to no avail. You know none of you tactics would ever work and that's why you kept them up. You loved the idea of being with someone but never harbored any feelings for anyone... Even the one you claim to love the most. Fef, to you she was the closest troll to you. No one had ever put up with you longer than a few pesterlogs and she always attempted to understand how you felt. You always wanted to protect her and for her to fill the void in your heart... To bring you back to life so to speak.

You'd done your part helping her feed her mighty horrorterror lusus, culling many innocent trolls along the way saying to yourself it's all for the greater good. Those land dwelling idiots, they have no idea what they do every day. "O-ow it hurts Eridan!" "I knoww fef, just hold still.. I almost got it." The memory of you and Fef as young trolls playing on the beach happily dancing under the bright water begins to play behind your eyes. Such a blissful memory until the muffled moan of pain is emitted by your darling moirail. The water has a slight pinkish cloud forming around her face. Her eyes growing huge as she reaches towards her fins, the look of utmost agony spreading across her delicate features. Acting on instinct you remember grabbing a hold of her and swimming her to shore nearly tripping over a discarded beverage container. "Filthy landdwellers." You remember uttering for the first time and you examine you frightened moirails face. A flash of white hot anger beams through your whole body as you see the taunting sheen of a fishing hook puncturing one of her gills, moving her damp heap of ebony hair away you begin to attempt to free her from her new unwanted piercing. "Wwait here.. I'm going to get some wwire-cutters... It'll be alright I promise." You give her a small reassuring smile, unsure at the time who you were trying to convince but her eyes, though terrified hint a little flash of hope before them and she wipes away the off-pink tears streaming down her cheek. And with that you ran to you hive faster than you thought you could ever run, hastily grabbing various medical items and a pair of trusty wire-cutters. Honestly after this was all said and done you really outta make a medical kit to save you some time in the future. Grabbing a towel on your way out you rush to Feferi quickly taking a moment to catch your breath, gotta be sure to run or swim more too you scold yourself. "O-ow it hurts Eridan!" "I knoww fef, just hold still... I almost got it." You reassure her and with that a loud SNAP! You pull the remnants of the hook out and clean the wound as thoroughly as you can. "There. all better" You smile to fef. "Hehe thanks Eridan you're the best moirail ever" She beams with her usual enthusiasm though she's still a bit shaky. How you wish you return a smile but the anger hasn't subsided they can't and won't get away with putting her through pain and destroying your home with their trash but for now all you can do is play with the beautiful grinning seadweller before you. She's all you have after all.

A few blinks tells you you're back into reality, the memory still stinging your brain. She would grow up to never understand your hatred of them, and it ultimately ended with a doomed moirailagence. Wanting to dismiss any more thought on the subject you glance around realizing in your zoning out you've wander far into no-trolls land. "Wwell fuck..." It's far too late to meet up with anyone and seahorse dad looks exhausted. "Alright let's go home" A loud protest comes from your lusus but obediently gets ready to head back to your hive. You feel something in the back of your mind, a weird feeling. Disappointment? 'Shit... Did I really think seeing the humans would make a lick of difference? Would everyone hate me any less?' No was the answer you found to be the most truthful though you wish it wasn't.

Trying to forget your current predicament you decide zoning out once more is the best way to pass the time and you let a memory bubble to the surface. You remember being a young troll first attempting to get to know the lowerbloods, a particular lowblood you despised now. "Hello landdweller, the names Eridan. Eridan Ampora." Your lusus always encouraged you to be confident in yourself in his own ways of course... Maybe he was just asking for food but you got the gist of what he really meant. "Whath thith dork doing here? Get lotht fithboy" A lisping troll retorted. He was digging around some old ruins with another lowblood troll. "Sollux! Don't be so mean! Hello Eridan my names Aradia and this fusspot is Sollux. Want to play with us?" That day was spent with many laughs from both Eridan and Aradia, mainly because Sollux or you couldn't go 10 seconds without insulting each other. Aradia was your first flush crush you remember, she cared about how you felt and unlike Fef you didn't have to protect and worry about her or feed her terrifying lusus. Just two friends, innocent and happy unaware of what would soon transpire. Nostalgia gets the best of you and you find a few lavender tears flowing from deep royal purple eyes. "No one ever fuckin' understands…" You mutter bitterly tightening your grip on the reigns. You usher seahorse dad to move faster and lose yourself in the howling of the wind and the rush of adrenaline and all too soon you're back at your hive utterly spent. Before bed you do your nightly storytelling in your head, making up fantastic scenarios where you rescue your old friends or make new ones and you're happy. With a sleepy sigh you drift away slowly into deep sleep.

**AN: Hope you enjoyed! I'll hopefully update it every week c: But I'd like to know if it's worth continuing! Thanks for reading! 3**


	2. Romcoms and alcohol

**So sorry for my delay! I meant to have uploaded this Friday.. I hope it's good enough ;u ; It's hard to write Dave and a lot of pressure. Can't mess up my favorite cool kid. **

**Anyways! Enjoy! **

Meanwhile simultaneously…

"Shit…" Looks like they've found you and just when you thought you could have a moment of peace. That never seems to be the case for you though, being a cool kid is tough sometimes. That short troll has being dying to get you to watch one his cheesy troll romcoms with him and John but you'd much rather being doing just about anything else. "Daaave, come on just one won't ruin your 'cool guy' reputation!" Egbert pleads with you. You know he really just wants you to hang out with him and Karkat so he doesn't feel guilty.

Meeting the trolls had changed everyone, for better and worse it seemed. Jade had made friends with Feferi and Nepeta almost instantly and spent most of her time exploring with them. Rose was glued to Kanaya which was fine with you; you didn't really need her psychoanalysis right now anyways. But John… He was your best bro, he was always trying to get you to make friends with the trolls and you had. The weird chalk eating girl, Terezi, always wanted to do crazy things with you but you could never expect her to understand how you felt nor could you keep up with her endless energy. John had adopted the trolls' quadrant system and had filled the flushed quadrant with that troll who was obsessed with the number eight, you think her name was Vriska or something like that. He'd formed an ashen quadrant with Karkat and me, but Karkat was always making black solicitations towards John even though John was completely oblivious.

Honestly you don't think the kid could ever hate anything, but that's just how he has always been. It was nice John wanted to include you so you'd find some friends but you didn't really have an interest, you'd served your purpose what more could you be of use for? But looking at John now with his big cobalt eyes and his goofy grin with his slight overbite you couldn't disappoint him by saying no. "Alright John, I'll watch one movie but that's it." Your monotonous voice always astounded you, but after years of living with bro you've learned to keep your head together even if it was a mess on the inside. "So thoughtful for the insufferable prick to join us now we're guaranteed a great time." The sarcastic shout seemed so close but Karkat was a good ways away throwing his arms in the air for dramatic effect.

Man he really got on your nerves sometimes; you really thought you and the troll could get along what with you both being knights. His suggestion on how to cope with everything was always 'to just get the fuck over it' but he had Kanaya and hell the weird clown dude at least listened to him even though he was a complete douche. Waiting outside Karkats hive, since he had to do something with crabdad he wasn't the friendliest of guardians, you glance at the sky and see a flash of purple and white. 'Wow, hallucinating… Not cool Strider.' You think you haven't been getting the best sleep but you didn't realize it was this bad. "C'mon Dave! Karkat swears this is the greatest film ever! I'm gonna make popcorn!" John beams and you walk into Karkats hive. You take you seat as Karkat begins to say the beginning of the title of the movie. "Whoa man, I feel like I already watched it. That's a hella name for a movie." You comment and the short troll goes into a ridiculously long speech about how much better troll cinema is compared to human cinema. "God, even that douche-y sea-dweller can appreciate a good film when he sees one. Oh I mean SEAS." Karkat rolls his eyes drawing out the last word carefully. "That's not cool man, Feferi may be weird but she's pretty chill. Plus she's Jades' moirail or whatever." You attempt to defend the sea-dweller. "What? Dave are you hearing the words that are falling out of your protein shoot? God how stupid are you humans? I was taking about the other sea-dweller you assclown." He barks at you. How does he not lose his voice you wonder…? "Geez man, chill out. The movies startin' anyway." John sits between you and Karkat and you watch bits and pieces of the shitty romcom that's in front of you wondering about the other sea troll.

Though you dismiss the thought after a little while figuring you'd never meet them since you hadn't already, though maybe you'd ask around a bit. "Well thanks for the shitty movie and mediocre hospitality Karkat. Later Egbert." You wave them off and head back to Tavros's hive, you had decided to stay with him since it was one very ironic and two he threw some sick fire with you every now and again. Plus he never tried to pry into your feelings like Kanaya or Rose. "Hey Tav I'm here. Goin' to bed early." You don't even bother waiting for a response fleeing to your room and falling into your bed. You reach into your nightstands bottom drawer for your newest best friends, a nice bottle of Vodka.

You'd catchaplogued one on your adventure to celebrate victory at the end but you have better use for it now. When you run out you can simply alchemize another, knowing this you take a huge swig the alcohol burning your throat you cough at bit and shudder. No matter how many times you drink it nothing ever prepares you for the first swig. Warmth hugs your body; you take a few smaller gulps until you become giddy and begin to wobble. Laughing you fall back onto your bed and place your shades down, you loved how everything felt so much better as if you didn't have a care in the world. You decide to do something spontaneous and fuck up your 'cool kid' hair letting streams of almost translucent hair fly around in chaotic patterns. You look into the mirror proud of your work turning off the light you fumble into bed and giggle a few times before falling asleep mumbling "Evvvvvverrrythiing will be allllright, evvvvvverything will be alrightttt." Ironically of course it was a song by The Killers and it strangely made you feel like everything was indeed going to be alright or so you hoped…

**Welp thus concluding chapter two! This will probably be the beta chapter till I find an editor/talent. ;u ;'' **


	3. Scarves and Sunglasses

**A/N: Wow i'm really sorry for the lack of activity ;u ;'' So I figured I'd post what I had then post the rest asap. Thank you those who've reviewed and followed my story ;A ; It means so much 3 I also have an editor now so the newer chapters will be much better! I'll stop rambling now! Hope you like the new chapter(well the first half of it)!**

_"It'd be better off if you didn't come around here any longer." Aradia's face has a delicate smile and is looking at you reassuringly. "B-but-"You plead wanting to stay with her and then maybe... maybe through her they'd forgive you. "I think it would be best for you, they want to kill you Eridan. I promise we'll still talk over Trollian." "Tho you're thill here? I thought you would have realithed no one wanted you here. You mutht be deluthional if you thill feel like you can thow your fucking fithy fathe here. Do uth a favor and get the fuck out." _Your hands fly up grasping and empty nothingness. Wordlessly you glance at the time and sigh. You still had plenty of time to meet Feferi and the others. During the night she had messaged you saying to meet her at her hive so she could take you to meet the kids. Staggering out of bed you trip up a bit due you being entwined into your purple sheets. Your thoughts float to Aradia, how you missed her. There was something about her, she'd always wordlessly listen to your rants about the land-dwellers and tell you not to apologize when you were finished. God, how you must've hurt her for talking about her friends like that. It didn't take a noticeable toll on your friendship at the time though, no that'd be much later. Your mind quickly went from pale to flushed being around her so much and you began to notice everything you loved about her. The long curly ebony hair with the slightest bit of red sheen to it, her rosy tender smile seemed to blind you of your problems and hatred if only for a moment. You, of course couldn't be in any quadrant with her Sollux had admitted his red feelings before you had the chance and they became matesprites. That was about the time everything went sour for you and Feferi, well let's be honest with everyone. Slowly the resentment built and you became frustrated. "I-I'm not that bad…" You feel hot tears prying to rebelliously fall from your eyes. Eventually their hatred finally won over you and you exiled yourself from everyone. Today though, today you had to face them all again. Not bothering to eat you pull up your black and blue striped jeans and throw on your one of many Aquarius shirts on. It fit you well though you've grown a bit and the fabric was taut on you, perhaps you'd ask Kan to alter some of your favorites to fit you better. Glancing at yourself in the mirror you brush your hair back with one hand fixing your purple streak before pushing up your think framed glasses and heading out grabbing your scarf on the way. Seahorse dad was still looking a bit disgruntled so you decided to walk to the beach near Fef's hive alone. It'd only took you about 15 minutes to walk to the beginning part of the beach near Fef's hive and no sooner had you stepped on the sand did you hear a familiar squeal. "ERIDAN!" Feferi exclaimed running up to you as you carefully tried not to trip over various pieces of driftwood and rocks, " Aren't you EXCITED?!" She looked at you expectantly causing you to feel ashamed to not be able to reciprocate her excitement. "A lil nervous to be honest..." You decide to tell her you'd not been looking forward to going and about your nightmare, leaving out Aradia of course. "Awh c'mon Eridan! Your only problem should be Karkrab and he's always shouty!" She dismisses your feelings again but you hope she's right.

The awkward small talk on the long trek to Karkats is almost unbearable but at the same time some contact with the outside world did you well. Seahorse dad wasn't exactly the greatest at conversation. You could tell she was trying way too hard; you blamed yourself for that as well. You were forced to grow up fast, faster than trolls normally have to grow up and it turned you into a bitter hate-filled troll whereas Fef… Fef was so innocent even though she was an heiress. As long as you kept her lusus happy she was happy, or so you thought. She saw your decent into your depression and anger and she'd always been overly cheery as if to make up for your lack of enthusiasm. You wanted so desperately for her to go back to being herself… But what you'd done to her could never be changed and god you hated every fiber of your being right then and there. "A—HEM! Are you even paying attention Eridan?" She gives you a pouty angered look and instantly something in you seems to snap. There you are laughing your head off only to see her eyes go big in bewilderment, this of course makes it far more hilarious. "Water you laughing at?!" Her face tinting pink embarrassingly and she suddenly becomes self-conscious. "You looked... just like a little guppy… When your eyes got all big. I'm sorry I just-" You managed to say in between gasps of breath and laughter. The high from the laughter fades and you readjust both your sanity and your scarf flashing your former moirail a smile. Wow how long had it been? It was nice to forget your troubles for that brief moment and Fef has joined in smiling and going on about taking fish puns to a whole new level. A good hour or so passes and wow it feels like you'd been talking for fifteen minutes but sure enough Karkats' hive is only a few minutes away. You can see the block-y building with various red awnings, honestly the troll keeps his blood color this huge secret yet there he goes displaying it on his hive for all to see; completely ridiculous.

**I hoped you enjoyed ;u ; I will be fixing any grammar errors asap! Can my own story give me otp feels? I think so. Eridan's just so cute. # Eridan feels**


	4. Cuts and Burns

**Okay so I didn't update for a reaaallllly long time and I apologize ; A ; My grandma has been sick- and i'm losing my muse but I refuse to drop this story! I decided to post what I have written(it's probably got some errors but i'll fix them I see some in my previous chapters that I will be fixing v u v). I hope you enjoy what little I have- I'll try to update this soon!**

**Enjoy~**

Looks as if your presence has been forgotten yet again, sighing you give an audible cough and they cease laughing to glance up at you. "Ampurrra what are you doing here?" Nepeta, who by the way still refuses to call you by your name to fit her ridiculously childish cat pun fetish, asks you quizzically giving wide eyes that make her look only 4 sweeps old(about 10 years old for those who don't want to convert). "Wwell I've been exiled long enough I think I'll try to make friends that wwont throw me away like yesterday's grub loaf." Not meaning to be that cold you instantly regret the words but they never understood how much pain you went through they never even asked about you. It's almost pathetic; no it is pathetic how badly you still wanted everyone to be your friend you went completely went over the top in everything you did to impress them and all you got in return were laughs and angered looks.

"What he means is he came to meet the kids!" Feferi perked up sending you a warning glance suitable for an heiress. Before you have time to apologize or say another word a bright flash envelops you, it doesn't exactly hurt but you know it's only a matter of time before- the thought is vicious ripped out of your head as you slam hard into a rouge boulder. The back of your head aches but it's not enough to kill you just to irritate you. If there was one person you never cared what their opinion was of you it would be the scum blood known as Sollux. "I thought I told you never to thow your thtupid fithy fathe around here ever again or I will rip you apart." His lisp always made everything he said less serious and you'd laugh at his most vile of threats. You had always thought you guys would make a perfect kismesis but Sol was always awful when getting into relationships even since Aradia's death.

Perhaps a part of him did care if he killed you but you'll never know because before you have to let logic kick in your fighting through the almost paralyzing electrical currents surrounding your body, thankfully for your higher level on the hemospectrum you have the ability to have some resistance against Psionics. Your anger is aroused and you're ready to fight to show just how much you've missed your dear enemy however his precious flush crush interrupts you yet again slapping Sollux harshly across the face and going into a lecture about killing people for no reason and to be honestly you never felt the urge to laugh more than you did that moment and against better judgment you let a few chuckles escape causing the wrath to be shifted in your direction "And you! Can you stop being so rude to everyone for five minutes or do I have to grubsit you whale you're here?" Her yelling could almost be compared to a banshee, piercing and boisterous. You grumble out a few words and she accepts that as a reasonable response probably not even caring what you said.

"Alright then if you'll excuse us Sollux we'll be on our wa-ve. Sea you later Nepeta." And like that you were being dragged away no doubt she was about to give you an earful about antagonizing people and rudeness but instead she only let out a heaving sigh and directs you towards Kar's hive, "I think John and Dave are still over at Karkats hive, if not go to Tavros's. Jade, Nepeta, and I are going to have what Jade calls a 'slumber party' so we'll sea you tomorrow. Please try to behave yourself and make some friends!" She says but gives you a gentle smile to know show you she's not mad. "Thanks Fef, I'll try." Giving her a hug you set off to Kar's hive, this should be very entertaining the anticipation of seeing his face get bright red and hearing his raspy voice shout obscenities at you was enough to quicken your pace and plant a smirk across your lips. Arriving at the door you give it three good raps and here Karkat very audible groan and a yell to someone to shut up, a few moments later the door is ripped open and there stands Karkat grimacing as usual. He hadn't changed a whole lot his hair was always the shitty ebony mess it always has been and probably will be, however he had grown a bit taller and was probably the same size as Sol now though they were both shorter than you coming to your collarbone which wasn't bad considering you were the third tallest troll next to Gamzee and Equius.

He had grown thinner and you wondered if he'd been eating enough your analysis is quickly halted when Karkat gives you a swift punch to the gut. "WHAT THE FUCK? DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT'S BEEN? I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD FUCKER." The hit to your stomach was nothing compared to his booming scream. "Calm down Kar, and if you wwere so wworried wwhy not message me or even vvisit? But that's not wwhy I'm here, I wwant me to meet the kids I guess." You wanted answers to your questions but you didn't want to make Karkat angrier especially since he just claimed to be worried about you. He looked like he was about to retort with something snide but held his tongue saying instead, "Why the hell would you want to meet those assholes? Ah forget it; John and Dave are still here just try not to make a fucking mess."


	5. Smuppets and Seahorses

_**Holy cow I have not updated in awhile. I'm so sorry ; A ; but here's a new chapter! If I don't start updating again feel free to harass me on Tumblr (whatlurksbeneathinnocence dot tumblr dot com) until I do!**_

Without saying another word you step into Kar's hive, seeing his boring taste in furniture has not changed which made you smile a bit you enjoyed his simplicity. You both envied and pitied him he'd always hate himself but he always managed to keep everyone else in check so they wouldn't fall apart, perhaps that's why he would never open up if everyone saw the 'fearless leader' fall apart everything would surely follow suit. However there were times you'd see genuine happiness come to the disgruntled trolls face and that gave you a little hope and a pang of guilt because all you did was gripe and add more stress to him though he's told you over and over if he didn't want to talk to you he wouldn't.

"Hey idiots we have a guest try not to act like poorly trained pawbeasts." He gestures to you to introduce yourself and you cough a bit trying to force your voice to make a sound and you succeed with a feeble "Hey, names Eridan…". The bright blue clad boy stands up and shakes your hand, must be a weird human custom but you oblige. "Nice to meet you Eridan! I didn't know there were any other trolls! Have we talked before? I don't remember." His voice is laced with genuine wonder and it appears he's actually happy to meet you though the fact that you weren't even mentioned stung a bit but you don't think he knew what he said. "Same to you, John. I sort of stayed awway for awwhile I wwas… Dealin wwith some personal issues. I don't believve wwe'vve spoken before" You try to be as polite as possible hopefully you wouldn't have to go into detail about your issues the human looked like he was about to ask when the other male finally spoke up. "Well welcome to the party. Hope you brought some booze you're gonna need it with that asshole over there. Oh and names Dave." He jested towards Karkat his voice was calm with an almost a forced apathetic tone. Karkat looked like he was trying not to play Dave's games but the attempt was in vain "Is that how you treat people that invite you into their home? Not to mention let you lie on their couch and watch their movies! Fucking hell if anyone needs 'booze' it's me. I should be awarded for putting up with all of your bullshit!" His hands are spastically moving while he talks you can tell Karkat's not really serious and you begin to laugh a bit and soon John follows suit. Karkat turns and looks at you incredulously, "Oh-oh looks like it's your turn Eridan-" John giggles. This of course brings up another bubble of laughter and even Dave is smiling giving a few chuckles here and there. Karkat gives up on yelling and smiles giving a heartfelt 'fuck you all' before continuing whatever shitty movie they were watching.

"Seats taken." Dave announces to you. "By wwho?" Staring at the obviously empty seat and seeing both Karkat and John sitting on the floor, perhaps he didn't want you sitting there? What would he have against you, I mean you just met the guy right? "By me" He states as if it were a common fact swinging his legs up onto the couch for emphasis giving you a challenging look. "Fine by be." Playing along into his game that you were going to win you sit on his legs which were very fucking uncomfortable and a bad decision in the long run. He lifts and eyebrow and senses your discomfort so he says nothing and lets you remain seated… fucking asshole. By the time TrollBella and TrollEdward had awkward stared at each other for the twentieth time you couldn't feel your butt so making up the excuse of going to the restroom you get up and try not to express your relief and slight pain. Idling in the restroom for a minute or two you flush the toilet and wash your hands to keep up your ruse though you doubt Dave bought it. When you mentally prepared yourself to win this little game you walked into the living room only to see he moved his legs leaving a spot for you to sit. You narrow your eyes at him and pats on the cushion of the couch to sit down if you could see his eyes you're sure they'd be full of mockery. It did keep things entertaining you hoped you could speak more with him perhaps you could be friends?

You decide it's safe and go to sit not seeing his hand move swiftly and grab your butt firmly causing you to jump up and make a queer yelping noise in the midst of your fit you actually hear Dave begin to laugh along with John who gave him a thumbs up for his prank and he taps you with his foot and you topple onto Karkat. "What the fuck! Ow you shithead watch it-" He's now kicking and struggling. "Kar get your foot out of my face I'm trying to get up-" . Eventually you're standing damn that asshole really got you he looks at you now awaiting your move. "Wwell noww, wwe're not even flushed kinda rude mister Strider~" You grin at him thinking you've won this game for good. "Whatever you say sweetcheeks" HeHe retorts and turns to Karkat "I'm gonna head out Karkat, I can't say it was a pleasure to see you again." To which he is responded with "Fuck you very much Strider see you tomorrow unfortunately." You shift awkwardly not really wanting to leave and go back to your hive perhaps you could ask to tag along with Dave. You open your mouth to ask but doubt creeps in and shuts it, he'd probably had enough of you for one day better not push your friendship on him. "You coming or did you forget how to walk?" Dave says halfway leaning out the door Karkat shoves at you a bit. "Get out of my hive I have to clean up your fucking messes."

He grimaces at the living room which was littered with popcorn and the couch cushions were everywhere a few drink cans were strewn about as well. He does give you a small smile though as if to encourage you, it always amazed you how caring he could be even after yelling so much though he did looked pretty pissed about having to clean up. "Wwell then i'll sea you later Karkat!" You emphasize the 'sea' part so he knows you used an ocean pun knowing it's extremely cheesy but lets him know you're happy and with that you exit following Dave.

"So.. Wwhere are wwe goin?" You inquire. "You're a fish right? We're going swimming obviously." He says bored but his pace quickens slightly. You stick your tongue out at him and say mockingly "I'm not a fish you idiot. Do you evven knoww howw to swwim?" He doesn't answer you instead he stops takes off his red shirt with his gear symbol for time off and removes his pants along with it revealing his white boxers with… Wait what the hell is that? "Take a picture and maybe I'll sign it." He adjusts his shades and turns to you. "Wwhat the fuck are those?" You're still trying to figure out the red creatures printed on his boxers. "Chill they're just smuppets dude." "Those are fuckin' creepy as hell" You laugh a bit at the irony and begin to remove your own clothes until of course you remember you sea-horse boxers. Freezing inplace you hope you can take a really long time and he'll just go on ahead but he's busy fussing with his ipod on top of his folded pile of clothes. You decide to quickly remove your pants, careful not to yank your boxers with them, and attempt to get in the water before he sees.

"Whoa dude are those sea-horses? That's fuckin' adorable." Well shit. "Fuck off I got them because my lusus-" You begin to defend yourself stopping as the word adorable registered in your brain you're now really aware of the warm feeling across your face knowing it wasn't showing but still hiding your face a bit. "Whatever you say man, let's have a race" He's already stretching and you can't help but laugh "You can't beat me you know, I wwas built for swwimmin'." You can't help but to brag a bit. He seems unimpressed and goes to remove his sunglasses keeping his eyes closed as he slips a pair of red goggles on in their place. You have a sudden curiosity of what his eyes look like but it passes as you prepare to race stepping into the crisp water it brought relief to your heated flesh and almost gave you a renewed energy as the cold water woke up your muscles. Dave found his way up to a small ledge and dove into the water splashing you in the process.

"You ready there fish boy?" He glances at you for a brief second and you swore you saw red eyes but it was probably just the goggles. "I should be askin' you that, try not to drown.~" You taunt him a bit feeling confident in your abilities. "To that rock over there and back" You nod and he begins to count down "1…2…3…4…Go!" Both you dive under the water and you focus all of your energy on swimming as fast as possible.

_**Wowee such a lame update! Next one should be triggering and sad yes. But it's okay because sadness leads into kissies maybe? (/)u(\)**_


	6. Knights and Princes

A/N - Mog I am so sorry this took way too long for me to upload ; A ;! Golly I just reread this chapter gomen for my shitty abilities in writing. Maybe my muse will bring life back to my story. orz

"I told you, you can't beat me mister Strider." You smirk feeling a bit more confident. Dave shows only little signs of fatigue and his mind seems preoccupied. "Hey wwhat's your problem?" You are a little upset, perhaps he really wanted to win? Or maybe you were bragging too much? "Nothin', hey come to my house or hive whatever you want to call it for a drink to celebrate. I think Tav is out for the night with Nepeta and it gets kinda boring alone." His face has a slight half smile to it but his voice sounds slightly pained.

Surprised by the sudden invite, or more a demand in this case since he really didn't ask, you get a cheery feeling but a hint of uneasiness lurks in the back of your mind. In any case you're not one to decline an offer like this especially since the other option is being alone. "Shore, sounds fun!" You let yourself slip an ocean pun out of excitement and anticipation you're instantly embarrassed but you don't think he realized what you said. You happily go over to your pile of clothes and fold them up neatly to carry to Dave's hive.

What will you do?

== Stop being the excited sea-dweller

You successfully stop being the sea-dweller just in time to be a perturbed Dave Strider.

You decided challenging the sea-dweller would be a good way to get him to be more at ease, he looked like the type that got jumpy if someone looked remotely upset with him. You couldn't help but to scope him out a bit too, he a nice build as expected for someone who lived in the water, wait did he live underwater? He'd have to ask later. Back to Mr. Amporas' figure which had broad shoulders and was just defined enough to show he had well-toned muscles, compared to your lean not-so-defined build your body had various scars everywhere from you sword fighting days with your bro which gave you amazing upper body strength. After admiring the trolls build you notice his left arm has a very neat bandage but you assumed at first it was merely an accident living near jagged rocks and whatnot. However, that story soon changed you get out of the water defeated, you glance over his face bears a huge grin you're about to make a sarcastic remark about fish when you notice the bandaged had washed away leaving various straight cuts along his wrist and arm. For some reason you got incredibly vexed by this, you couldn't really place why but you felt somewhat responsible however unlikely that was.

In a sense you supposed it was the fact that you understood. Though it was different, he appeared to have no one while on the other hand you had many who called you friend but you never really trusted them enough and you always felt as if you were at a distance. You hated the fact people loved you so when there was clearly someone more worthy of it right in front of you giving you a toothy grin as he slicked his hair back. You decide you'll try to be that person, you dared to be so bold but after all you are a knight and so shall he be your prince. Ironically of course, can't let yourself get overly carried away. In a mixture of new found determination and bitterness you notice him giving you a perturbed glance, he seemed to really like you and you didn't want him to return to his empty fishbowl so you decide to take action now and you decide to invite him over. He somehow noticed your internal conflict and asks you what your deal is; you're a little shocked but get an idea. "Nothin', hey come to my house or hive whatever you want to call it for a drink to celebrate. I think Tav is out for the night with Nepeta and it gets kinda boring alone." You give a smile to let him know you want him to and that you're not just being polite. You figure alcohol is a great way to break that wall that he has surely put up, not like anyone else would drink with you. He seems uncomfortable at first but happily responds with a cheesy sea pun which you pretend not to notice since you see his face gain the faintest hint of blush.

You both make your way to your individual clothes piles and you decide to carry home your clothes rather than get them wet besides it was fairly nice out, or at least nice enough for alien weather. It's still difficult to believe that there's another species somewhat close to humans but with all the twisted creatures back on LOHAC, you wouldn't be surprised if there was butterflies that spit acid. At least the trolls were somewhat pleasant. Carefully removing your goggles you replace them quickly with your favorite pair of shades only to see in the corner of your peripheral vision a curious sea troll. You smirk "Not so fast there guppy you can't see my eyes unless you buy me dinner." He looks surprised but it turns into a playful smile you see his confidence come back in full force "Noww noww wwho's the one wwho wwon the race? I think I deserve a prize at least. Besides wwhat's the big deal wwith your eyes?" He ponders it for a minute and looks up at you waiting for an answer but he looks worried as if he's overstepped his boundaries.

"Your prize is you get to hang out with me, you should be honored not many get the great privilege." You avoid the last question because you don't think you could ever come up with an answer for it. It's not that you were ashamed; it's just always been this way. You hated your eyes for very different reasons other than their peculiar color. What would the trolls care about color anyway, I mean shit their blood ranged from red to pink your russet red eyes wouldn't phase them. Your eyes had always been the weak point they gave away too much. You felt as a knight you shouldn't have time to deal with such trivial things as emotions. Though they plagued your mind, your eyes bore no guards, nor walls you saw the same shitty story every time you looked into the mirror and it made you crave a drink. "I'll tell ya what, finish a bottle with me and I'll show you my eyes." You consider the possibility of a drunk troll to be a hilariously good decision on your part and you give yourself a mental high five. "Fine, since you have to be so difficult. Next time you're comin' to my hive though." He huffs slightly but looks pleased with himself.

== C'mon skip to the house already

You successfully skip past countless words about the two gentlemen walking in their boxers having mindless chatter. You are now at Tavros' hive and you've stopped being the cool kid long enough to become the other guy.

Your name is Eridan Ampora and wow are things going great for you for a change. You've learned so much about the once ever mysterious Dave Strider, you both shared your stories playing through sburb and sgrub. You both decided you equally hate the game but couldn't live without it. It gave your lives meaning and you got the chance to be a hero, though by the understanding glance you gave each other you knew neither one of you were just that. You both talked about life before the game, and Dave was really interested in your treasure hunting days and called you a 'pirate' and it made you well up with pride as you told the story of your ancestor and the various treasure you found. Meanwhile he'd go on about his days learning how to fight with his older brother, which you learned is not the same as a lusus but a weird offspring which is birthed from a single female lusus, and has the same blood or something. Aliens sure were strange. It was all very confusing, but throughout that you took the time to appreciate the company it was something new and it made you feel alive again.

A/N - wowow! I honestly am honored you guys read this, so a big thank you to you! ; u ; Feel free to message me telling me I need to update because I get lazy and need the kick in the pants.


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